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. 1966 Jul;100(1):27–33. doi: 10.1042/bj1000027

Effects of lower alcohols on potassium transport and microsomal adenosine-triphosphatase activity of rat cerebral cortex

Y Israel 1, H Kalant 1, A E LeBlanc 1
PMCID: PMC1265088  PMID: 4225875

Abstract

1. Slices of rat cerebral cortex, incubated anaerobically at 37°, lost K+ from an initial concentration of 102m-equiv./kg. to a concentration of 57m-equiv./kg. after 10min. On subsequent aerobic incubation they regained K+ rapidly at a rate that varied with the K+ concentration of the medium. 2. Lower aliphatic alcohols, present at equal thermodynamic activity, produced approximately equal degrees of inhibition of K+ uptake during the aerobic incubation. This inhibition was reduced by an increase in K+ content of the medium. Ethanol did not affect the rate of K+ loss during anaerobic incubation. 3. Li+, in concentrations of 1–10mm, also inhibited K+ uptake by brain-cortex slices, the degree of inhibition varying with the Li+ concentration. Ouabain also inhibited K+ uptake. 4. The same series of alcohols, at equal thermodynamic activity, produced comparable degrees of inhibition of Na+,K+,Mg2+-stimulated adenosine-triphosphatase activity in brain microsomes. 5. It is suggested that inhibition of cation transport is an important, but not a primary, mechanism in the production of central nervous depression by alcohols and other substances.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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